On September 22, 1957, Haitian women exercised their right to vote for the first time in history, a monumental 153 years after Haiti’s independence. This pivotal moment coincided with the election of François Duvalier as president, marking a significant shift in the nation’s political landscape. The event symbolized both progress and the long struggle for gender equality in a country shaped by revolutionary ideals.
Also on this date:
– In 1776, during the height of the Revolutionary War, 21-year-old Capt. Nathan Hale was executed by the British for espionage in New York. His famous last words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” immortalized him as a symbol of American patriotism and sacrifice.
– In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This groundbreaking declaration announced that all enslaved people in Confederate states would be free as of January 1, 1863, if those states did not surrender and rejoin the Union. The document marked a decisive shift in the moral and legal standing of slavery in the United States, paving the way for its eventual abolition.
– In 1975, Sara Jane Moore made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford. Firing two shots outside a San Francisco hotel, she narrowly missed the president by inches. This event highlighted the security threats faced by American presidents during a time of political unrest and upheaval.
– In 1980, the long-simmering tensions between Iran and Iraq exploded into full-scale war. The conflict would drag on for nearly eight years, becoming one of the most brutal and devastating wars of the 20th century, with far-reaching consequences for both nations and the entire Middle East.
– In 1985, rock and country music legends united for “Farm Aid,” a benefit concert held in Champaign, Illinois, to raise awareness and funds for struggling American farmers. The event, spearheaded by musicians like Willie Nelson and Neil Young, reflected growing concern over the economic pressures facing rural communities.
– In 1993, tragedy struck when an Amtrak passenger train derailed near Mobile, Alabama, after it plunged off a bridge into Big Bayou Canot. The accident claimed the lives of 47 people and remains one of the deadliest train accidents in U.S. history.
– In 2014, the United States, along with five Arab nations, launched a coordinated airstrike campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria. This operation, using waves of planes and Tomahawk missiles, marked a major escalation in the global fight against terrorism and the efforts to dismantle ISIS’s strongholds.
– In 2017, the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico became starkly clear. Officials reported that more than half of the island’s communities were out of contact due to widespread destruction, and the island’s entire population of 3.4 million was left without power. The disaster revealed critical vulnerabilities in the island’s infrastructure and led to a prolonged humanitarian crisis.
Today in History: November 16
Today in History: November 16. In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of an 800-mile oil pipeline from the Alaska North Slope to the port city of Valdez. In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was voted prime minister of Pakistan, the first woman to be elected to lead a Muslim-majority country. In 2001, the first film in the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ debuted in theaters around the world. In 2006, following midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi was nominated by the Democratic caucus to become the first female speaker of the House. In 2018, a U.S. official said intelligence officials had concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Today in History: November 15
Today in History: November 15: On Nov. 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation. In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado. In 1864, late in the U.S. Civil War, Union forces led by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began their “March to the Sea.” In 1988 The Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the State of Palestine.
Today in History: November 14
Today in History: November 14. On November 14, 1889, journalist Nellie Bly began an attempt to travel around the world in 80 days; she would successfully complete the journey in just over 72 days. In 1851, Herman Melville’s novel ‘Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale’ was published in the United States, almost a month after being released in Britain. In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. In 1965, the U.S. Army’s first major military operation of the Vietnam War began with the start of the five-day Battle of Ia Drang.In 1993, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula became the NFL’s all-time winningest coach with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Today in History: November 13
Today in History: November 13:On Nov. 13, 2015, Islamic State militants carried out a set of coordinated attacks in Paris at the national stadium, in a crowded concert hall, in restaurants and on streets, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling which found Alabama bus segregation laws were illegal. In 1971, the U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In 1985, some 23,000 residents of Armero, Colombia, died when a volcanic mudslide buried the city. In 2001, U.S.-backed Northern Alliance fighters in Afghanistan entered Kabul as Taliban forces retreated from the capital city.
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